I've heard some say that there is an internal USB port in the iBook and others say that there is not. So I got a hold of the iBook service manual and was looking at the block diagram which says that the Modem and the BTO Bluetooth module is connected via a 12 Mbps USB, so I looked at the bluetooth section and it connects with four wires. Red, Black (Power), Green, Yellow (Data) into a board. Is this not the same as the wires in USB? So I was thinking that it might be possible to attach an ordinary and CHEAP usb bluetooth module and plug it in there by soldering a few wires together. I also wonder if it would work with any other devices (although I am not sure how useful they may be).

My iBook is still under warranty so I'm not going to open it but wanted to throw the idea out there and have somebody else try it. Tell me your thoughts and if you got it to work!

yesh i just had a look myself at the developer manuall for the ibook G4, it says:

Quote:

USB 1.1 Controllers The external USB interface is via the PCI USB controller; see “PCI USB 2.0 Controller” (page 30). The Intrepid IC has three independent USB 1.1 host controllers each with a maximum data rate of 12 Mbps. The controllers comply with USB Open Host Controller Interface (OHCI). In the iBook, only one of the Intrepid USB host controllers is used for the Bluetooth adapter. The other host controllers are disabled for power savings reasons.

so yeah in theory you could attach a bluetooth module to the internal bus if you could find some space for it. I'm going power down now and have a look!

well after a quick look, well as quick as you can be when you have to undo what seems like a hundred diffrent screws! it seems that their is a connector on the board, it has four connections, like usb does, unfourtuently I don't have a plug that would fit it, and I'm not prepared to start soldering to the main board, as I would most likley kill it.I did crack open my belkin f8t003 module and put it next to where would most likley go and i reckon if I remove the usb connector it should fit. The connector itself is the same one used for the track pad. I'm trying to work out where I could get one to give it a try, any one any ideas, or anyone have a dead ibook they wouldn' mind butchering the trackpad connector from. please let me know. (I'm based in the UK)

(1 dead mouse later) yeah it is similar, but the connector on the motherboard is really tiny. The two mice (hockey puck and old MS mouse) i tried have connectors about twice the size, I tried maplins earlier and the staff wernt very usefull. I'm going to look into getting a dead trackpad assembely off ebay if I can find one cheap...

burtman i need your guidance I am about to swap my g3 700 logic board for a g3 900 with 32megs of vram but i have never gone further than painting my ibook are there any good pictorials out on how to remove the mother board and can i just remove the old one from the frame and put the new one in? so many questions...

I'd reccomend the apple service guides they are pretty descriptive and show you all the steps and pics you need to do to pull your book apart. The trick is to take your time, make sure your earthed before you start. watch out for the little rectangluar magnet under the bottom right hand conrner of the keyboard, below the top case, it activates the reed switch in the lid which sends your book to sleep, I forgot it the first time and my book didn't sleep on reassemble...

also check the mod guides for ibooks on this site and any others you can find.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to swap the motherboard, I've never needed to got that far before (though if the usb mod goes wrong i might!)

but from the looks of the manuall the thermal pads between the chips and proccesors may need replacing after, depending on condition, don't know how thick they are so you might be able to use thermal paste instead.

I'd give you my spare (scraped) tackpad, but sadly its from a powerbook.... and has a diff connector. You should try the place that makes the connectors for the iPod's HD, they have a ton of connectors that apple uses, I forget their name. I'm gona look it up.

The optical drive should be a simple enough swap. Any Apple notebook drive should work. A large number of PC ones too. If you get a PC drive, you may have to flash the firmware to make it bootable. Check the drive compatabilty database at Xlr8yourmac.com. Someone must have done it already.

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